A tabletop game such as baccarat using playing cards (also referred to simply as “cards”) has complicated rules that determine the outcome of the game. Therefore, when a dealer (a person who deals cards in the tabletop game) judges the outcome of the game, there is a possibility of the dealer making an erroneous judgment. Also, in such a tabletop game, a game participant (a person who participates in the tabletop game) may perform a fraudulent act (e.g., the act of secretly replacing a dealt card with a different one).
A card reading device has therefore been proposed that is used by being set on a game table, and that has a function to read a code printed on cards (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). On the surfaces of cards (the front surfaces, on which suits and ranks are printed), a code invisible to the human vision in ordinary use but recognizable with a predetermined recognition device is printed. The card reading device has a function to read this code.
The conventional card reading device has rules for determining the outcome of a game stored in itself to enable determination of the outcome of a game. Detection of a judgment error when a dealer makes an erroneous outcome judgment is enabled thereby. In the conventional card reading device, information on cards (the suits and ranks of the cards) is read when the cards are put out. Therefore, if a game participant or the like replaces one of the cards, a discrepancy occurs between information on the card read by the card reading device and information on the replaced card. Thus, the card reading device is capable of easily detecting replacement of cards and preventing a fraudulent act performed by a game participant or the like.
A communication cable for connection to an external device (a display device, a computer system, or the like) is connected to such a conventional card reading device to display the outcome of a game on a screen or the like. A power supply cable is also connected to supply electric power to the card reading device.
In a tabletop game such as baccarat, it is a general rule to put out cards from a card shooter device by the hand of a dealer. However, a “participatory” game is conceivable in which, for the purpose of making the tabletop game more interesting, a game participant participating in betting is permitted to put out cards from a card shooter device if the participant wishes to do so.
In such a participatory tabletop game (in which a game participant draws cards), there is a need to move a card reading device on the game table from a position in front of a dealer to a position in front of a game participant. In the participatory tabletop game, the operation to move the card reading device is frequently performed.
However, since the communication cable and the power supply cable are connected to the conventional card reading device, the communication cable and the power supply cable are inconvenient when the card reading device is moved in a participatory tabletop game. In such a case, it is difficult to move the card reading device. Thus, the communication cable and the power supply cable conventionally provided are a hindrance to the realization of a participatory tabletop game. The communication cable and the power supply cable are also a hindrance to the operation to set the card reading device on the game table and to maintenance operations. In some cases, the communication cable or the power supply cable may become a cause of a malfunction.